Lorain County survey finds range of health results

Britney Ward, director of community health improvement for the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, presents the findings of the 2015 Lorain County Health Status Assessment Report on May 24, 2016. The study is a snapshot of health issues of Lorain County residents and becomes a guiding document for health agencies to assess needs and create programs to fill them.
Richard Payerchin — The Morning Journal

Lorain County health findings

• 64 percent of Lorain County adults visited a doctor for a routine checkup in the last year.

• 49 percent of adults went outside of Lorain County for specialized health services. Presenter Britney Ward of the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio noted that figure is excellent compared to other parts of Ohio and the country where residents do not have specialized services nearby.

• 3 percent reported they survived a heart attack; 4 percent said they survived a stroke.

• 36 percent were diagnosed with high blood pressure; 33 percent were diagnosed with high blood cholesterol.

• 11 percent were diagnosed with cancer at some time; the top three were breast cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer.

For social context and safety, 9 percent of adults were abused in the past year; 74 of county adults considered their neighborhoods to be extremely or quite safe from crime.

For women’s health, 61 percent of women over age 40 had a mammogram in the past year; 92 percent had a clinical breast exam at some time in their lives.

Among women, 22 percent were pregnant in the last five years.

For men’s health, 76 percent of men age 50 or older had a PSA test at some time in their lives; 53 percent had a digital rectal exam at some time in their lives.

Weight was up, tobacco use was steady and quality of life was getting worse for Lorain Countians as of 2015, according to results of a health survey.

Lorain County Health Partners, a coalition of health care agencies and hospitals, on May 24, published the 2015 Lorain County Health Status Assessment Report. More than 100 health care workers, medical executives and local officials gathered for a presentation at Lorain County Community College.

The 150-page study looks as county health trends as of 2015, comparing results to those in the county in 2011, and to results of Ohio and the nation as of 2014. The document is used as a guide for the county’s health agencies to find the needs of residents and tailor programs to meet those needs.

The data was presented by Britney Ward, director of community health improvement for the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio. That agency coordinated the Lorain County study with researchers from the University of Toledo.

In Lorain County, 47 percent of adults rated their health status as excellent or very good, down from 48 percent in 2011. Among the respondents, 14 percent rated their health status as fair or poor, up from 12 percent in 2011.

For quality of life, 36 percent of residents reported they were limited in some way because of a physical, mental or emotional problem. That figure was up from 20 percent in 2011.

Among adults, 69 percent were overweight or obese, up from about 67 percent in 2011.

As for smoking, 22 percent of residents are current smokers, the same as in 2011. Cigarettes are the preferred choice of tobacco products, but Ward noted e-cigarettes, cigarillos and chewing tobacco are using colorful packaging to attract users.

For alcohol use, 61 percent of adults reported having at least one alcoholic drink in the last month, up from 59 percent in 2011. Binge drinking – having more than five drinks at a time for men or four for women – was reported by 11 percent of adults, down from 23 percent in 2011.

At least 10 percent of adults had used marijuana in the last six months. For adults, 11 percent used a medication not prescribed for them or took more than prescribed to feel good, high, active or alert, and 20 percent of those reported misusing medication almost every day.

Ward noted drug use data is likely under-reported because true addicts may not have houses to send the surveys to, and may not have the wherewithal to answer 115 questions.

Generally, self-reported data also can be under-reported. She gave examples of women tending to underestimate their weight, while men tend to exaggerate their height, she said.

Lorain County is one of a few in Ohio that has two urban areas, suburban communities and rural areas, so data sets were divided for health of rural, suburban and urban residents, Ward said.

The day included remarks from Dave Covell, Lorain County health commissioner; Ed Oley, president and chief executive officer of Mercy; and Charlotte Wray, president of University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center.

A panel discussion had presentations on health initiatives on issues across the county. The presenters were: Stephanie Wiersma, chief executive officer of Lorain County Health & Dentistry; Kathryn Boylan, health commissioner of the Elyria City Health District; Kathleen Kern, associate director of the Lorain County Board of Mental Health; Elaine Georgas, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County; and Jim Ziemnik, director of Lorain County Metro Parks.